Foot construction in full-fashioned



June 7, 1938. G. GASTRICH v FOOT CONSTRUCTION IN FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY Original Filed April 25, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l F1. Eli

IN VEN TOR:

.. Gusiiw asfi'ich BY fiz M A TTORNEY.

June 7, 1938. a. GASTRICH 2,119,575

FOOT CONSTRUCTION IN FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY Original Filed April 25, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEY.

June 7, 1938. G. GASTRICH FOOT CONSTRUCTION IN FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY Original Filed April 25, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Gas ' June 7, 1938. G. GASTRICH FOOT CONSTRUCTION IN FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY Original Filed April 25, 1934 4 Shets-Sheet 4 Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF cE FOOT coNs'mUcfrIoN m FULL-FASHIONED nosmnv Gustav Gastrich, Wyomissing, Pa.," assignor to.

Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application April 25, 1934, Serial No.

722,245; now Patent 2,055,458.

Divided and this application July 31, 1936, Serial No. 93,566

-'6 Claims.

I My invention relates to stockings and particularly toa novel foot construction for knitted stockings of the full-fashioned type; it further relates to a stocking foot, and, in still further aspects, to heel and toe portions, as operating severally and together to improve the stocking, as a whole.

This application is a division of my copending viding an additional reinforcing or plating yarn.

or yarns in such parts. It has also been sug- V gested to provide separate-ply toes, whereby one toe may be cut away, after wearing through.

" However, in a full fashioned stocking, not 'only by reason of the requirement of a seam but also in view of the manner in which flat-knit stockings are produced by straight knitting machines, the heel portion has presented certain difficulties in the way of changes or additions, such heel-portion, in any stocking, being suhject'to the extra wear above .mentioned. Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide the heel of a full fashioned stocking with a loose or separate ply area or areas of novel construction, whereby to materially enhance the wearing qualities of such stockings over those of prior manufacture, to obtain the resultant economy, to induce more extensive use, and to provide otheradvantages, as will herein appear.

The heel of a stocking is a source of frequent discomfort .and abrasion of the heel of the wearer, particularly of low shoes. Similarly, the toes of stockings also are subject to extra wear, and are thesources of discomfort. Also, there is a certain play from the heel to the toe, between the wearersfoot and the stocking, and between the stocking and the shoe, in which the heel and toesections cooperate as basesbetween .which the actions occur "and the sole extends.- This play occurs in various ways depending on varying conditions, such as the fit of .the stocking and the shoe, the temperature, the texture, character of surfaces and other factors. In other words, by reason of the more or less irregular shapes and sizes of the various elements of the feet, stockings and shoes of diflerent wearers, the feet of stockings are very diflicult subjects to adapt in advance .to the complete com-' fort of every potential wearer; they being only generally so adapted by grading and numbering as to size, by the choice of materials, by the 5 judgment of the purchaser and, in some cases, by the addition of certain of the above-mentioned thickened areas or multi-ply toes.

Accordingly, it.is another object of the invention to improve a stocking generally, by having 10 the foot portion operate'better as a whole, to have the heel and 'toe in'better relation to each Y other, and .to have the toe, and particularly the heel, of such specific improvement, each .of itself, as to conduce to the comfort, the safety and to 15 the economic advantage of wearers, in general, irrespective of the exactness of their judgment in selecting stockings, or of the many variables that in stocking service.

Chafing at the heel of a low cut shoe has prob- Q0 ably been at one time or another an experience of 1 nearly everybody, such action varying in degree of severity from slight inflammation to very severe openwounds, subject to infectionyand causing the losses naturally resulting therefrom. 25

It is therefore, another object 01 my invention to prevent such discomfort and losses, in novel manner, particularly in view of the dimculties presented against it-in a full-fashioned stocking.

'The toe portion being also subject'to -wear, but seldom acting as does the heel in the severity of its effect on the wearer's foot, is preferably also adapted, as in the heel, to have separate slidable ,plies', in which an extra ply is not, or not exclusively, as is the prior suggestion, carried as a 35 spare ply, for operation when a regular ply is worn out and cutaway, butis adapted to cooperate therewith in the term of aslidingmove- I mentthereon; theadjacent sliding surfaces being selected and adapted to efl'ectively so act. 40

Altho, stockings constructed in accordance with the invention, and means for producing it,

are shown in the accompanying drawings, theseare merely by way or example and illustration of preferred embodiments, and not intended as limitations upon the scope of the invention or as excluding equivalent structures and means; which may be modified and reconstructed in accordance with the claims. I

In the drawings: Y

I Figure 1 is 'aview, in perspective and taken from the rear, of a full-fashioned stocking em-' bodying the invention, and in the form assumed inservice. Fig. 2 is a developed plan view, ona smaller along the line 33 of Fig. l,

Fig. 4 is a view, similar to Fig. 3, ofa modified form of the structure thereof,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view, taken substantially along the line 55 of Fig.2,

Fig. 6 is a view, in side elevation, of. the foot of the stocking of Fig. 1, but in the usual flattened condition produced by the boarding process,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view, taken substantially along the line l-'I of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a side View, in section, of a stocking foot constructed in accordance with a modified form'of the invention, the view also indicating a shoe inv cooperative relation thereto,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail view, similar to the lower end of Fig. 2,, of a toe structure embodying the invention, in modified form,

Figs. 10 to 15, inclusive, are diagrammatic perspective views of portions of a full fashioned knitting machine and the stocking leg blank, lustrating progressive stages of constructing a stocking embodying the inventionfand Figs. 16 to 21, inclusive, are views similar to Figs. 10 to l5, indicating progressive steps of the method of knitting the foot and toe portion of the stocking.

Referring to Figs. 1 to '7, inclusive, the stocking thereof comprises a welt 25, a leg portion 26 including an instep portion 26a, narrowing courses having fashion marks 21, reinforced heel areas 28, an overlying or separate-ply section 29 of the invention, a plated sole area 30 and a. toe portion embodying inner and outer separate plies 3i and 32 of. the invention. The lower edge of areas 28 is indicated on Fig. 1 by the U-shaped line 28a. i i The separate-ply heel section 29 is knitted, as hereinafter more fullyset forth, as a part of the progressive knitting operation of the stocking as a whole. stocking, or joined thereto by-knitted loops across its top and bottom courses 33 and 34, and is stitched to the stocking along its lengthwise.

edges 35 and 36.

' The adjacent abutting inner faces of the .section 29 and the reinforced area 28 are selected, respectively, as right and wrong surfaces of the blank so that the surface next the foot is a wrong'surface and that next the shoe a right surface, whereby to ensure easy sliding of these surfaces on each other and to effect better sliding of the heel area on the shoe and better frictional retardation on .the heel of the wearer re spectively. Thus, with the plies arranged to freely slide on each other, with-minimum sliding action on the shoe ,and on the wearer's foot,

respectively, itis ensured that a tendency toward the chafing hereinbefgre mentioned, shallbe prevented. ,This action not only thus prevents injury, but very materially increases the life of the stocking at a position gzhere it is subject to great wear.

4 As indicated in Fig.3, the rear seam 31 em-- braces and ties all of the quadrature-related adjacent edges of the halves oi. the plies 28 and 29, whereas, in the modification 0 1..Figf4, the stitches 31a and 31b are individual to the halves of the plies 28 and 28, respectively, to increase the sliding areas; theaiorm of Fig. 3 having the advantage of easier fabrication, and the form of Fig. 4 the feature of greater sliding area.

To assist the action of the heel area, as above That is, it is an integral part of the set forth, the stocking toe may also be constructed of. the sliding plies 3| and 32, and provided, ashereinafter set forth, or, as indicated in the modification of Fig; 8, a sliding area 48 of the heel may be extended from above the upper heel edge of ashoe to a position under the heel of the wearer, from which area 48, a conventional sole area 4i extends to a sliding toe area 42.

In either form, through the action of the wearers foot and the imposed Weight, the sliding action at the heel section is enhanced by the sliding action at the toe section, and vice versa, to prevent contrary or opposing movements of the toe and heel resulting in the imposition of unnatural or unnecessary forces and movements on the wearer's foot.

Fig. 10 illustrates the operation and condition of the stocking fabric on the loop forming mechanism of a full fashioned knitting machine, after the leg blank of the stocking has been knitted from the welt, and through the leg and narrowing courses, to the position of the course 33, which' preferably is about one-half inch above the contact portion with the upper edge of. a shoe. those parts, such as the sinkers and dividers 58 and 5|, knockover bits 52, needle bar 53 and needles 54, of the loop forming mechanism are" shown; and" other parts and their manner of operation are well known in the art, and are shown and described in detail in the Reading Full Fashioned Knitting Machine Catalog (copyright 1929), published by the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pennsylvania. In the heel reinforcements 28, 28 the course 33 is made a loose course by employing suitable rocker motion in these areas, in a manner well known in the art,

, without lengthening the loops .of the course 33 inthe instep 26a.

A draw-off bar 44 carrying hooks 45 to engage only thereinforced portions of the heel, is inserted in the loose course 33, as illustrated in Fig. 10.

The knitting of the leg blank is continued for approximatelyan inch, after which the course 34 is inserted in the heel areas 28, as shown in Fig. 11.

The fabric-is next placed below the knockover bits 52, and the loops of course 33 transferred from the welt hooks 45 to the needles 5!, as indicated in Fig. 12.

The extra reinforced section 29 between the courses 33 and 34 is then knitted, as illustrated in Fig. 13.

As indicated in Fig. 14, the regular heel areas 28 are then raised above the knockover bits 52, and into knitting position, and interknit with theextra portions 29 during the nextknitted course. Following this operation, as indicated in Fig. 15, the knitting is continued to form the heel tabs in the usual manner until the leg blank of the stocking. is complete.

The knitted leg blank is topped onto a footer machine, the draw-01f motion mechanism 55 of" which is indicated in Figs. 16 to 21, inclusive, and the knitting is continued until theinstep portion is completed. "A loose course .58 is introduced and the hooks 51a of a draw-01f bar 51 are inserted in the loops of the course 56. The respective parts are then'in the relative positions illustrated in Fig. 16. I

The toe portion 3| is then completed mine draw-01f bar 51 removed and a hook bar 58 sub stituted, and the fabric pressed below the knockover bits 5211., as shown in Fig. 18. The first row of loops 56 of the toe section is then transferred to the needles 54a, the needles are returned to knitting position and the second toe section 32 is knitted, as indicated in Fig. 19.

With the completion of the extra toe 32, the loops of the last course of the original or regular toe 3| are raised above the knockover bits 52a, and again placed in knitting position, with the loops of the last course of the extra toe section 32, and the two toe sections are interknit during the first subsequently knitted course, as seen in Fig. 20.

Several additional courses 59 are then knit to form a single fabric, see Fig. 21, to facilitate the threads, in these multi-ply sections, may be of varying weights or other characteristics. They may be of the same count or weight as the threads employed in the leg section, or their weight may be increased, or the section plated. One ply may be formed of thread of one weight and the added ply or plies of another weight, or any one or all of 'the plies may be plated to suit the require: ments of the producer. Yarns of different material and color likewise may be introduced in the separate plies.

In completing the stocking, by looping and seaming, where the plies lie adjacent to one another along a seam, as in the rear of the heel section of Fig. 1, the joining edges of the plies may be attached as at position 31, Fig. 3, that is, the four edges may be caught and held by a single seam, resulting in the forming of two separate pockets, or the edges of adjacent plies may be seamed separately, as illustrated in Fig. 4, resulting in the formation of a-single pocket and giving to the area greater elasticity, and facilitating the sliding action of one ply upon the other.

In the formation of a dual-ply toe from a. blank, as shown in Fig. 9, the toe portion of the blank may be knitted continuously, the portion 6|, corresponding to the portion 3| above set forth, being formed by lessening the travel of each yarn carrier in successive courses, until a predetermined course 63 is reached, and then, by increasing the travel of each yarn carrier in successive courses, to widen the fabric to the same proportion by which it was previously narrowed, thereby forming the portion 62 corresponding to the portion 32 above set forth.

After the last course 64 of the toe section 6! is knit, and while the loops of this course still While the location of the heel tabs 28 affords a convenient place to apply the additional ply or plies, such plies may be introduced, by the method herein disclosed, in any area where reinforcement is desired.

Of course, the improvement specifically show and described, by which I obtain the above results, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the in vention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim: 7

1. A full-fashioned stocking comprising a foot portion for preventing friction including reinforced heel areas, a multiple-ply area interposed between said heel areas, the position of said multiple-ply area being such as to engage it to the rear top edge of a low shoe, and a loose ply extending between upper and lower positions spaced rearwardly from the toe tip.

2. A full-fashioned stocking blank comprising a foot portion including reinforced heel areas, and a multiple-ply area interposed between said heel areas, the position of said multiple-ply area being such as to engage it to the rear top edge of a low shoe.

3. A full fashioned stocking blank comprising continuously knitted successive inversely fash ioned cooperatively contoured areas for folding substantially on a line of intersection between the areas.

4. A full fashioned stocking blank comprising continuously knitted successive inversely fashioned cooperatively contoured areas folded on a line of intersection between the areas and seamed to each other between edges of the plies at one edge of a multiple-loose-ply single area thus formed.

5. The method of forming a dual-ply section in a fiat stocking blank which comprises knitting a leg and instep portion of continuously interlocking loops, knitting a toe portion on said instep portion while narrowing the toe portion and knitting a second toe portion integral with and of the same length as said first toe portion while widening to bring the last course of the second toe portion to the same width as the first course of the first toe portion.

6. The method as set forth in claim 5 together with the step of knitting the last course of the second toe portion to a previously knitted course of the blank.

GUSTAV GAS'I'RICH. 

